History of Health Professions

In this section, we will develop a series of modules that explore the history of healers around the world, and how they became professionalized into specific health care roles. 

The rise and development of the health fields as bodies of knowledge often involved dialogue and competition between physicians, nurses, surgeons, barbers, midwives, healers, and others, those who have been marginalized as unprofessional healers.  

Law, public health, gender, economics, and international politics have often influenced who practiced health care, when, how, and for whom. 
This section will include modules that explore the biographies of famous health practitioners.

We will focus especially on the histories, experiences, art, and narratives of

  • Physicians
  • Nurses
  • Midwives
  • Occupational Therapists
  • Physical Therapists
  • Medical Scientists (Biomedical Engineering, Biochemistry, etc.)
  • Non-Western healers and non-biomedical traditions
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